Fallen Angels
by satanael
Summary: I just thought I should repost this (written about 1 year ago). Not sure about the next parts though which are normally NC-17. About archangels, God and Satan and how they lose their minds. m/m references


Note: THIS IS A COMPLETE WORK OF FICTION, AS IN NOT TRUE!! 

Author: satanael (not the one mentioned in the fic) 

Summary: Christianity, a deadly invention that got out of hand, while the archangels search for their purpose on earth. 

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the Bible, not even the little angel in my cookie box ... Maybe God or Satan owns me, but I'm not sure yet.   


The dark splinters of my broken heart, illuminated by my immortal soul,   
carving in this light unbearable sweet nothings of pain and devotion,   
Is this you my love, the one I've fallen forever,   
haunted by my dreams of happiness as I'm dying in your arms tonight.   
© by satanael 

Fallen Angels

Part 1: Burned Wings

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Every angel is terrible   
Knowing this, I invoke thee,   
O Deadly Birds of the Soul   
(Rainer Maria Rilke) 

~~~~~~~~~~

"Gabriel", the voice was soft and kind, almost loving. Gentle fingers caressed his cheek, touched his lips briefly, and the voice became more urgent. 

"Gabriel", repeated Raphael and continued in barely a whisper, sadness mingling in his words, "I have to go now ... and I won't come back." 

Gabriel opened his eyes, bright blue ocean depths, and stared at Raphael. "What do you mean? You go back to Europe?" 

"No, I mean, you will never see me again." 

Unbelieving, Gabriel looked at the red-haired angel. 

"It's time for me to leave. I found my peace, Gabriel. Maybe I'll never have another chance to die. Please, you have to understand me." Raphael stood up, his eyes never leaving Gabriel. 

"You can't leave me, not now!" Gabriel shouted angrily as the other angel turned away from him. 

"I ... I'm sorry. It's just ... I'm so used to you being around, so focused on myself, so selfish, so..." 

"So human," interrupted Raphael. 

Speechless, Gabriel gaped up at him. 

"That's why I love you, and always will. With all your vices, your compassion, your regrets... Promise me, promise you'll never forget that!" 

"But Michael..." Gabriel's voice trailed off. 

"You are stronger than him. And he fears you. He tried to destroy you, and everything he's ever done to you just made you stronger... I know that you will face him soon: his doom is just a question of time." 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Even Gods die if nobody believes in them anymore   
(Sartre) 

~~~~~~~~~~

It was a late afternoon. People rushed through the streets not even noticing the figure on top of a skyscraper. Harsh winds tousled the short brown hair, and emerald eyes observed the human ocean flooding the avenue beneath the building. Michael was bored of it all. All those useless, unthankful humans: an epidemic on God's creation. A soft noise interrupted his thoughts and without turning around he began to speak in a presumptuous tone. 

"So, what about him?" 

Raphael closed the door, stopped and huddled deeper in his black coat. Michael still kept staring into the distance and seemed to have no intention to face him. Raphael sighed and slowly took a step forward, spreading his invisible wings, and, for just a second, the sunbeams reflected in the angelic feathers. 

"Gabriel?" 

"Who else? I know you've been seeing him for ages now," Michael snorted, and made a face. 

Slowly Raphael approached the other angel, who was sitting near the edge of the building. 

"He will destroy you," Raphael stated almost coldly. 

Suddenly Michael turned around and studied the face of the tall figure beside him. "He's a fool, like you!" 

"Am I?" Raphael said. "Who is the fool, Michael? You or me?" 

"I am your leader! You are nothing without me!" Michael spat. 

"Who gave you the right to claim this position? Your almighty Lord, who left us?" 

"He'll come back, he ..." 

"I don't want to hear your praises of him again," Raphael interrupted harshly. "If he ever existed, then he's dead now!" 

"Don't disgrace his name!" 

"Michael, you're obsessed with your own creation of religion. We are nothing special, we never had a message, nor did we have the right to influence mankind the way we did." 

Angered, Michael jumped up and grasped Raphael's arm, hurting him. "You. Know. Nothing." 

"I do! I know how power can cloud one's mind, how it feels to rule..." 

The last sunbeams touched Raphael's gold-red hair, blinding Michael briefly. "Shut up!" 

He let go of Raphael and noticed the calm expression on his face. Almost shocked, Michael stumbled backwards, finally realising what was about to happen. "No, no ... you can't leave us. We are so few already. You can't be happy, you can't!" 

"But I am. I'm certain Gabriel will defeat you. You'll lose this game you began thousands of years ago. And finally I can forgive myself." 

Darkness fell over them as the sun disappeared completely, shadows covering their features. 

"And I forgive you, Michael," Raphael added softly. 

Shocked, Michael stared at the archangel. A whisper arose, like hundreds of voices, the sound of fluttering wings. 

"They have found me already." 

"Raphael!" 

"There's nothing you can say to make me stay." 

Many pairs of gleaming red eyes appeared in the dark, eyeing their victim. 

"I'm here, take what's yours!" 

"Noo!" 

A dozen figures emerged from the shadows, lean black demons with bat-like wings, and they attacked the defenceless angel. Michael turned away, memories of other dying angels, once his friends, returned to his mind. He closed his eyes, ignoring the sound of a body being ripped apart. 

"God!" 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Kill a man, and you're a murderer   
Kill millions, and you're a conqueror   
Kill all, and you are God   
(Edmond Rostand) 

~~~~~~~~~~

Gabriel pushed open the door to his apartment. It was dark inside and he didn't bother to turn on the lamp on the floor. The small apartment was empty; just some blankets lay in the middle of the living room. Gabriel sighed deeply and loud thunder shattered the heavy silence, followed by lightening. He took off his dripping wet coat, letting it slide to the floor. Warily Gabriel made his way to the window and looked outside. More thunder boomed in the sky and huge claws of light rent the darkness. Startled, Gabriel spun around, alerted by the feeling of being watched. Flashes of lightning briefly illuminated the room and a demon with its red, gleaming eyes. Its black body was lean, almost fragile, like the body of a woman. The demon's huge wings scraped at the floor and it leaned forward, its sharp claws nearly touching Gabriel. 

"Why ... are you here?" Gabriel whispered, frightened. 

"Your fear ... I can almost taste it, Angel," the demon chuckled softly. "Michael sent me..." 

It took another step forward, forcing Gabriel to press himself to the cold window. The demon smiled and lifted its hand to stroke down Gabriel's throat, making him shudder. "I have a present." 

The black angel opened its other hand and revealed a small black crystal. Gabriel stared at it stupidly, mesmerised by the dark gleaming object. The demon cocked its head up, the face a mask of concern, intending to make fun of the scared and helpless archangel. 

Gabriel closed his eyes briefly and felt the claws wandering lazily down his chest. 

"It won't hurt that much," the demon whispered in his ear. 

Pain flooded Gabriel's veins, a fire burning his insides, and a silent cry escaped his lips as the demon's claws pressed against his chest. Another white flash of pain tormented his skull and he let himself be swallowed by the darkness that followed. Unconscious, Gabriel slid down the window and his body landed with a dull thud on the floor. 

Heavy raindrops hit the windows, the noise more intense as before. Street lamps reflected in the rain, coloured light spots dancing in the darkness. 

The demon stared at the angel lying crumpled on the floor. 

"Did I please you, Master?" the demon asked throatily and a dark figure stepped out of the shadows. The demon gracefully turned its head and followed every move of its Master. 

"Did I?" repeated the black winged creature, a little more concerned. 

"You were a good girl, my love", Michael said, and looked at Gabriel. "Fool." 

"It was easier than I expected." The demon approached its Master and folded the black satiny wings on its back. 

Michael watched the demon, its slow graceful movements, the slender female body suddenly illuminated by a flash of lightening. Now it was standing so close to him that he could feel the heat radiated by the fiery eyes. Michael softly touched the demon's cheek; one hand slipped around the demon's back and he hugged it carefully as if it could break at the slightest caress. The black creature closed its eyes and pressed itself even closer into the arms of its Master. Michael kissed it on the forehead and the demon opened its mouth involuntarily, moaning softly. All of a sudden, the angel's hands closed around the demon's throat and with a sickening noise the fragile neck broke. The demon's eyes opened for the last time, hurt and betrayal mirrored in the red orbs, complete disbelief, and then death. 

Michael let go of the lifeless demon in his arms, not caring about it any longer. He took a step forward and knelt beside Gabriel. His skin was pale, cold sweat glistened on his forehead and his eyelids fluttered feverishly. Michael sighed and ran his hand through Gabriel's short golden hair. 

"You are a fool, Gabriel, " he whispered. "Maybe I can't kill you but I can make your life a living hell. I can make you lose your mind, and if that happens you are easy prey for the demons ... and for me." 

Michael stood up, his green eyes never leaving Gabriel. "Let the games begin." 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

God is dead 

(Nietzsche) 

~~~~~~~~~~

The first rays of the morning sun crawled into the cold room, warming the cream-coloured carpet. A dark red spray of dried blood on the carpet led to a body lying in a corner. The woman was naked but for the blood covering her front. Her body was twisted at an unnatural angle, her big grey eyes opened wide as if in shock. 

Satanael looked at her without emotion, just analysing the image of the dead woman at his feet. Carefully he avoided stepping in the gore and turned to Gabriel. The archangel was still lying at the window, where the demon had left him. His head rested heavily against the wall, his face in the shadows despite the sunbeams touching his golden hair. 

Satanael crouched beside Gabriel and stared at him. "You're just another pretty face in a room full of whores," Satanael murmured, reciting a song he had heard some days ago. "No, you don't mean much, you used to be so naive, catatonic. Now you seem to be so much better than before..." 

Gently he touched Gabriel's face. Surprised by the hot skin, Satanael took his hand off the angel's face. 

"Gabriel," he said aloud, almost hissing the other's name. "Wake up. We have to get out of here, quickly." 

Gabriel's blue eyes fluttered open and he stared unfocused at the dark figure kneeling beside him. 

"Satanael?" 

"No time for philosophical conversations, my friend," Satanael smiled faintly." Not even the Devil has any time these days." 

Satanael pulled up the weak angel to stand beside him. Gabriel leaned against the devilish creature and realised with a shock that his body was covered with bloodstains. 

"What? What ..." His voice trailed off. 

Satanael looked at him, confusion clearly written on Gabriel's fragile features. 

"You're not hurt. It's the demon's blood. Don't worry, I'll explain it later but we have to go now." 

He dragged Gabriel to the door, but paused as he heard heavy footsteps approaching the door. 

"Fuck, you're good, Michael," Satanael mumbled and turned around, still holding the shivering Gabriel in his arms. "Almost too good... change of plan, Gabriel." 

Both stumbled to the window and Satanael managed to open it. "I hate skyscrapers." He cursed as he looked out of the window and into the depth between the huge buildings. 

Seconds later, the door of the apartment was knocked down by armoured policemen. They swamped the small room, their weapons pointing at every direction as one of them noticed the open window. The officer looked down on the streets. 

"No-one's here. We're too late," someone shouted. 

"And it's impossible to escape through this window," the officer added. "Unless he had wings... " 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

... don't be afraid of the future, it doesn't include you,   
it only removes you ... 

~~~~~~~~~

"What am I doing here?" Gabriel looked out of the window of the cheap hotel. It was getting dark again and the neon signs of the hotel lit up the room in strange colours. "The question is, why you appeared? I haven't seen you for more than a hundred years! I..." He tried again, the effort of speaking taking his breath away. 

"You shouldn't talk so much. I know how you feel at the moment. You should rest. Tomorrow is another day..." 

"No, no. I want to know why you're here. You never seemed to care about me, or anyone, in fact. Why now? And you don't know anything about how_ I feel_!" Gabriel shouted. He closed his eyes briefly and fought against the dizziness, failing miserably. 

"Believe me, I know it," Satanael grasped his arm. "You feel helpless, you don't have control over yourself, your powers are gone... it's quite confusing, isn't it?" 

Gabriel opened his eyes again and gazed into Satanael's black eyes, the white face and the long black hair falling into his vision. 

"How...?" 

Satanael let go of Gabriel and spun around, suddenly feeling uncomfortable at being watched this closely. 

"He did the same to me once." 

Satanael crossed the room and sat down on the small bed. The covers were dirty, imprinted with little flowers, completely inappropriate to the rest of the room. Satanael stared at the tiny stains on the floor right beside the bed. He sighed deeply and recognised Gabriel's slow movements behind him. 

"He did?" Gabriel asked, unbelieving, as he leaned against the frame of the window, his hand clutching the dark red curtain. 

"You saw the crystal? What is it?" 

"I don't know. But it's something that makes us partly human." Satanael paused. "It's a soul." 

Gabriel slid down the wall, his back rubbing against the silvery white wallpaper, and he sat down on the floor, one arm resting on his knee. "I don't believe you." 

"How could you? I'm the devil, am I?" Satanael spat and turned his gaze to Gabriel. 

"I didn't mean to..." 

"No, I know exactly what you think of me. But you've forgotten that it wasn't my choice. It never was," Satanael said angrily. "I'm just another piece in this mind-bending game of our dear Michael." 

Gabriel swallowed, startled by Satanael's harsh words. "He has hurt me too. More than anyone else." 

"I know." 

Both turned away from each other. The silence roared in Gabriel's ears, the rush of his own blood running through his weak body. He didn't realise the darkness filling the room as the sun disappeared, nor did he see Satanael slowly approaching him. 

"I never did tell you..." he began, and stopped, suddenly frightened of his own words. "We can defeat Michael. End this game, start living our own lives or end them." 

"You really think so?" Gabriel whispered. 

"Raphael put his trust in you, and I will do the same." 

"He's dead." 

"I can't die. Bless Michael," Satanael chuckled bitterly. "The devil in disguise." 

"Who's more powerful, God or the one who can create a God?" 

"The one who defeats the creator of the God. Michael made me play the devil, now the devil revolts and acts the way he's supposed to." 

"You loved him, Satanael." 

"It's more than 2000 years ago and those wounds will never heal... like yours. He made us both immortal, condemned to grieve forever." 

"But why should he give me a soul? To break me? He won't be able to let his demons kill me anyway," Gabriel sighed. 

"No, but he expects you to crawl back to him. Or he thinks that you're losing it. Asylums do this to people..." Satanael pointed a finger at Gabriel. 

"He wanted to get rid of me by locking me away in an asylum?" 

"Asylum or prison, there isn't much difference," the black-haired angel said. "He left the demon's dead body, called the police ... It's a nice strategy, if you consider how he'd planned all the other deaths of his poor begging creatures. Making the humans believe you're a psychotic murderer." 

"Psychotic?" Gabriel repeated. 

Satanael shrugged. "It worked before, and he knows how you react when you're caved in." 

Gabriel put a hand to his forehead, feeling the faint beginning of a headache. "Raphael helped me to forget." 

"I'm sure he did his best, but..." 

"I cursed every hour I spent in that hole, every fucking minute of it and nobody came to help me. Not even you." 

"I know, Gabriel. And I'm sorry. I should have done something against Michael as long as I still had my powers," Satanael said miserably. 

Silence fell over them like a dark shadow, unspoken words of regret and sorrow clouding their thoughts. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Your simple Pleasures come from someone else's Pain   
The way you like it   
For you - I've become what you made me   
And we make this new religion,   
to escape what we've become   
(ORGY) 

~~~~~~~~~~

_Unbearable darkness haunted the angel lying in the dirt. His wings hid his face, covered in layers of dust. A sudden ray of dying sunlight found his way into the dark cave and a figure stepped forward. The dangerous green eyes gleamed faintly as Michael leaned forward._

_"I have to show you something, Gabriel," said Michael with a vicious smile on his lips, "a gift."_

_Strong hands helped Gabriel out of his prison. Not thinking, not knowing, he let himself been guided through the blurred landscape. Fading light touched the dusty ground and dry plants were dying a slow death near the path the angels were following._

_They stopped as they reached a stony hill and Gabriel was dragged to the row of big wooden stakes. The angel didn't dare to offer resistance. He was even too tired to avert his eyes from the ground, eyes that hadn't seen anything but darkness for years. Gabriel felt Michael's hand on his face and a sudden spark of hatred awoke his clouded mind._

_"I taught him how to live, I made him a God ... he'll be our future," Michael whispered in Gabriel's ear, and forced his head up._

_Gabriel tried to focus on the image before him, the image of a tortured, crucified human. Nails fixed his wrists and his feet at the wooden cross, but the wounds were barely bleeding. They were infected, and the red wounds contrasted sharply with the bluish skin and the swollen veins. His chest was marked with bloody bruises, ribs shining through the dark red flesh. His face was a mask of pain as he lifelessly stared into the distance. Gabriel tried to make sense of what he was seeing, not wanting to believe his very own eyes._

_"Arbori infelici suspendere, " Michael commented, and moved away from Gabriel._

_"No, no, no, you didn't dare! No." Gabriel whispered._

_"I didn't want it to end like this, my dear, but you left no choice for me," Michael said calmly._

_"He was my son, Michael. What have you done? What have you done..."_

~~~~~~~~~~

"So, where are we going?" Gabriel asked thoughtfully. 

"We have to find a place to face Michael," Satanael answered, rubbing his temples. 

"Why this rush? The world isn't going to end tomorrow, is it?" 

"Maybe... if we aren't careful." Satanael opened a green suitcase on the bed and looked at Gabriel's terrified face. "It was a joke!" he added. 

"I thought this was not the time to be sarcastic..." 

"I heard you talking in your sleep." Satanael interrupted Gabriel, still packing the suitcase. 

"Huh?" 

"I said, you were talking in your sleep." 

"So... what, what did I say?" Gabriel asked, confused, and he stood up from the chair in the corner. 

"It was in ancient Hebrew, something I haven't heard for ages." Satanael stared at the knife he was about to put in the ugly suitcase. "I'm not used to having one of you around me, that's all. But I wouldn't mind..." 

"Company?" Gabriel offered, and chose his next words carefully. "I know what you mean. It wasn't the same after the incident." 

Satanael threw the knife in the suitcase and closed it. He sighed and looked at Gabriel standing beside him. "It wasn't the same after Michael decided to bring salvation to humanity, the megalomaniac bastard," Satanael hissed. 

"You think he just... lost his mind, that he went crazy?" 

"Immortality is something he never coped with. Well, who does?" Satanael chuckled bitterly and opened the door. "Let's go. I can't stand this awful tasteless room any longer." 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

For beauty is nothing   
but the beginning of a terror we can hardly bear,   
and it amazes us so, because it nonchalantly declines   
to destroy us. Every angel is terrifying.   
And so I restrain myself and choke back the call   
of my dark wailing.   
(Rainer MariaRilke) 

~~~~~~~~~~

The room was darkened and the velvet curtains moved slightly as the soft breeze from the open window touched them. Scattered candles barely illuminated the medieval oil paintings at the walls and the white marble statues in the corners. Michael stopped in his restlessness and examined a woodcut more closely. Angels on horses, making their way up to heaven, and in the middle, on a plateau of clouds, angels with trumpets calling for a meeting. Michael frowned and looked at the signature on the left. He recognised the picture as another illustration of _Paradise Lost_, and sighed. 

"Milton," Michael snorted, and turned around to face the other archangel. 

"This is more serious than we thought, Michael," Uriel said, concerned, and leaned against the marble statue of an angel. 

"Don't dramatise our little internal conflicts." 

"Michael, this is not just a conflict! Your last actions didn't have the blessing of the council..." 

"I don't need your consent! It was my personal revenge!" 

Uriel swallowed and averted his eyes, inspecting the wooden floor so closely that tears sprang to his eyes. 

"It was my right to take that perfect soul. Gabriel is weak, even if my plan wasn't a total success." Michael stepped closer to Uriel, who seemed to be indifferent to his words. 

"This is not the end, Uriel. Gabriel will never lead us; never. I'm too strong. I have more power than any of those half-angelic creatures." 

Michael paused and took Uriel's face in his hands. "I'm stronger than all of you. You belong to me." 

Uriel gazed up in his cool greenish eyes, catching the faint silvery sparkle as the candles reflected in them. 

"Tell me you'll never leave me." Michael leaned down to Uriel, their lips almost touching. "Tell me you're mine, forever." 

"Yours, forever..." Uriel whispered, dazed by fear and desire, and Michael moved even closer. 

Uriel slithered against the angel statue, which burst into thousands of pieces as it hit the ground, the clattering noise ringing in his ears. 

~~~~~~~~~~

"New York?" Gabriel sank back into his seat of the car. 

"Why not? It would be even worse if I'd tell you to go to L.A.!" Satanael almost shouted. "This is not a fucking movie, Gabriel." 

Gabriel frowned and stared out of the window, watching the landscape pass by. "I'm not dumb, you know. I know this is serious", he said in calm voice. "Tell me why you saved me." 

"I already told you: so that we can only defeat him together." 

"Why do you think I want to defeat him?" 

"What?" Satanael hissed and suddenly stopped the car. "You dare to ask something like that? Do you really think this is just about us?" 

"Is it not? All we did therefore was about us! Religion, wars, all this is our doing... " 

"Egotism is an angelic virtue, yes." Satanael got out of the car, violently banging the door behind him. Gabriel watched him, the black long hair whirling around him in the harsh winds. Gabriel sighed and joined him in standing beside the car on the empty road. 

"Do you hate Michael?" Satanael asked in a low husky whisper. 

"Maybe," Gabriel hesitated. "I can't tell." 

"We just have to end it, now or never. And I prefer now. Not only for us, but for..." 

"I know, Satanael," Gabriel interrupted. "See, it's about to rain any minute." 

~~~~~~~~~ 

I penetrate the demons, their teardrops burn away my eyes ...   
I'm drifting slowly, going close enough to the sky, new world gone slay the devil,   
can you show me a better way to die ...   
(White Zombie) 

~~~~~~~~~~

"Where are they?" It was more a demand than a question, and Michael observed his opposites. 

"They were seen near New York, Master," the lean black demon answered, his head bowed. 

Michael closed his eyes, anger boiling behind his features. He yelled, cursing in a long forgotten language, and he threw the wineglass he was holding against the wall. The red liquid ran down the stone wall, right beside an oil painting. 

"Satanael!" he screamed again and grabbed one of the demons to break his neck. Satisfied, he stared at the lifeless body at his feet, his breathing ragged. 

"He saved him. This devil saved him!" Michael almost laughed and looked at the other two black creatures. "Go, find them!" 

Both obediently ducked their heads and left the room, their wings scraping the floor. 

"Satanael?" Uriel stood at the doorframe with a pained expression on his face. 

"He helped Gabriel to escape. I should have known that he was watching every step I'd make," Michael said. "So, he's challenging me again." 

"Again?" 

Michael's eyes darted at the angel with the short black hair, the keeper of the warmth of the day, Uriel. 

"Call Raguel and the others. We leave today." 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

If we could perceive our angels for just a single day,   
this world would never be the same again,   
nor would it ever wish to be ... 

~~~~~~~~~~ 


End file.
